U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein meets with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail on Aug. 14, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Washington is fully mobilizing to defuse regional tensions and contain potential Iranian and Hezbollah responses to the assassinations of key figures within the “Axis of Resistance.”Several Biden administration officials are currently touring the region, including U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein. After arriving in Israel on Monday night, he is expected to visit Lebanon on Wednesday — a visit strategically timed to coincide with the resumption of cease-fire negotiations in Gaza on Thursday.For the U.S., there is a genuine opportunity to broker an agreement. Washington aims to use the looming threat of retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah as leverage to push Israel toward a preliminary deal that could prevent a regional war. The U.S. is also trying to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that, with the assassinations of Hamas...
Washington is fully mobilizing to defuse regional tensions and contain potential Iranian and Hezbollah responses to the assassinations of key figures within the “Axis of Resistance.”Several Biden administration officials are currently touring the region, including U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein. After arriving in Israel on Monday night, he is expected to visit Lebanon on Wednesday — a visit strategically timed to coincide with the resumption of cease-fire negotiations in Gaza on Thursday.For the U.S., there is a genuine opportunity to broker an agreement. Washington aims to use the looming threat of retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah as leverage to push Israel toward a preliminary deal that could prevent a regional war. The U.S. is also trying to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that, with the assassinations of...